Boy, has this been an interesting primary. None of these candidates are overly deserving of adoration, but I sure keep running into people who will defend them to the death, even if that “death” is the death of a “friendship”.

Sure you hear tales of “Palinistas” or “Ron Paulbots”, but even Rick Perry and Mitt Romney have developed ardent supporters. You have to understand the situation this often puts me in. I talk about politics. A lot. If I have four people in the room, and each one is very much in support of one of the candidates I just mentioned, any conversation I engage in has potential to p*ss off 3/4 of the people in the room. Now, how can that not be frustrating? …really?

And it’s not just those politicians’ supporters, either. There’s a new crop coming up around Rick Santorum, and there used to be a strong following for Michele Bachmann too, so this whole primary has been….. draining.

I’m not the only one experiencing it, but I am one of the few who are willing to speak on it, so here I am, speaking on it.

We’ve got to man up, people. There’s a movie from ten years ago, called “Training Day” with Denzel Washington. (the movie that scored him his Oscar) In it, there’s a scene where he says, “Do you want to go to jail, or do you want to go home?” It’s a question repeated by another character later in the movie, and both times, it refers to making a tough decision. That line has always stuck with me, and over time, I’ve come up with a variation of my own that I use when I’m discussing unpopular topics with coworkers, family, or friends. “Do you want to win, or do you want to go home?”

In my mind, life (often) does not work out according to plan, and the difference between success and failure comes down to your ability to adapt. If your favorite candidate has made an ass of themselves, you can either put your head in the sand (go home) or you can reassess what your stance is on this candidate and possibly find a new one. (win)

You don’t even have to find a new one, but you certainly can’t be mad at your fellow conservatives for pointing out their flaws. This is an important election, and we can’t just run “anybody” against Obama, no matter how convinced you are that might just work. (it won’t)

So, do you want to win, or do you want to go home?

If you want to win, then you need to be honest about the flaws your candidate has. You also have to be willing to put your support behind another candidate, if the one you’ve been in favor of turns out to not be viable. Remember, the definition of “winning” is for Obama to be unemployed come 2013, not necessarily for “your guy” to get the nomination.

If you want to go home, then block people on Twitter who make fun of your candidate, unfriend people on Facebook who disagree with you, and be an all-around passive aggressive person. This is a free country, and you have the right to do these things, but don’t be surprised, if Barack Obama is still your president when the dust settles on the ground.

For what it’s worth, I’m not the arbiter of who is and who is not “viable” in this election. I’m not here to decide that for you. What I am doing, however, is saying that we cannot be crybabies and throw hissy fits when someone pokes fun at our candidate or provides evidence of their failings. We need to elect the best candidate, and that’s going to require some vetting. (and at times it might be unpleasant)

If we’re willing to be honest with ourselves and work with each other, we have a really good shot at winning… and for Obama to go home.

I came across a Rick Perry ad today that stopped me in my tracks, and not for any of the good reasons. At first glance, it seems like it might be another good TV spot for the candidate from Texas. It starts off with optimistic music and Perry looking like a seasoned man from America’s heartland. He’s standing by a quiet river, and he begins with a proclamation that he’s “not ashamed to admit that he’s a Christian”. So far so good… Then his next statement kind of derails things. Take a look…

Look… I know that this statement will speak to the hearts of many Americans, but Perry really shouldn’t have added the line about “gays serving openly in the military”. I think he had a good ad on his hands without the addition of that statement. And to be honest with you, I’m not at all sorry for him for any heat this might bring upon his campaign.

This is a year where Republicans have an honest chance to unseat the current president, and that’s saying a lot, considering how dire the GOP’s hand was in 2008. Commercials like this do nothing to bolster those chances, however, and I’m ashamed of Perry for putting this line in there.

Now, I know that Perry has been gaining support on this website, and that I’ll draw the ire of many of our readers for pointing this out, but if you WANT Perry to be the next president of the United States, ads like this do not help. Whether it is fair or not, Republicans are known for being “against the gays”. How does this ad help to change that perception? It doesn’t. It only “reaffirms” what many have suspected about Republicans all along.

Also… it was a good ad without that line. Perry looked good, he sounded good, the production values were solid, and his message was fine. Adding the line about gays serving openly in the military did nothing to improve or embellish it. It was foolish, and it was the opposite of helpful.

This isn’t the first time that Perry has disappointed me, nor is it the first time that he’s “stepped in it”, but after enough occurrences, these things start to look like nails in his coffin.

Before gaining his own reputation as a “flip flopper”, Mitt Romney was calling out John Kerry for being one, himself. Pot, meet Kettle in this week’s “surprising video”.

For someone who seems to know so much about accusing people of flip flopping, it seems surprising that Mitt has let himself be strung up by this very same tactic, himself. What do ya’ll think? Is this irony? Poetic justice? Or is Mitt just not very good at dealing with his own PR?

This is the segment from last night’s debate that’s going to get the blogosphere fired up.

What do you guys think? Is this the Rick Perry Texas Dream Act all over again? Does Newt Have a point? Is this going to hurt him in the polls? What are your thoughts? Let us know on Facebook and in the comments below.

In the continual march of “inevitability”, Mitt Romney picks up another big name endorsement. Sometime today, Senator John Thune (R-SD) is expected to announce his support of presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. The following excerpt is from DesMoinesRegister.com.

“Mitt Romney has shown throughout his life in the private sector, as leader of the Olympics, as governor, and in this campaign that he will not back down from difficult challenges. His plans to revitalize the private sector and restore our country’s fiscal health are drawn from his 25 year career as a conservative businessman.” -Sen John Thune

Is Mitt the “inevitable” candidate? Or do these endorsements, ultimately, amount to nothing? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Jon Huntsman has stated that he’s made over 100 appearances in New Hampshire, yet he’s still near the bottom of the polls. Piers Morgan pressed him on this earlier in the week, and this is how Huntsman replied.

I know Jon Huntsman is not a very popular figure on this website, but I think he handled this question really well. What do you think? Is he a good candidate that has been over looked by the Republican electorate? Or is he an idiot who should have never quit his day job (as ambassador to China)? What do you have to say?

I heard a lot about Herman Cain’s “Libya” video yesterday. It always works out like this; I’m in no position to sit down and watch a video, and everyone’s talking about it. I heard it was really bad, and the snippets I saw on the news made it look pretty bad also, so I was expecting a train wreck of epic proportions. Well, I hate to tell you, but I was disappointed. It wasn’t as much of a train wreck as I’d been led to believe. It was more like watching someone struggle to parallel park a car, so they circle the block in frustration, and then they find a new space has opened up just as they’ve come back around around the block. It was awkward and sad, but train wreck it was not. I actually felt compelled to annotate the video with my thoughts. Check it out below.

So that’s pretty much it. It looks like they woke him up on the bus, threw some clothes on him, and shoved him in the interview. He seems to be progressively waking up throughout the conversation, and by the halfway point, he seems to know what he’s doing. I don’t know about you, but it didn’t seem like that much of a train wreck upon viewing the whole video.

What do you guys think? Was he just sleepy? Was some “special” liquid in that bottle of “water”? Or was it a total flame-out train wreck, after all?

Let us know what you guys think in the comments below. And as always, resist we much.

I tell you what, the “relaxed” Perry isn’t all that bad. Here he is at Saturday’s CBS debate referencing his “oops” moment from earlier in the week (at the CNBC debate)

The difference between “stiff” Perry and “relaxed” Perry is night and day. I’m not saying that this funnier side makes him qualified to be commander in chief, but you’ve got to admit, if he’d been this affable the whole time, then maybe his numbers wouldn’t have sunk so low.

What do you guys think? Has he recovered from his “oops” moment, or should Perry just drop out and stop embarrassing himself. Let us know in the comments below.

In one of the biggest flubs of the night, Jon Huntsman said he “wants to be the president of the 99%”. Ouch, Jon. That was not a good move. Check it out, below.

Now, to be honest with you, I think Jon had a good opportunity, maybe even a great one. He should have said,”I want to be president of the 100%”. Instead, he said, “I want to be president of the 99%. I also want to be president of the 1%.” That was an awful response, Jon.

What do you guys think? Did Huntsman miss out on a potentially great opportunity? Or is he so far back in the polls, that it wouldn’t have mattered if he delivered the new Gettysburg Address? Let us know in the comments below. Or, if you see me playing extreme frisbee in Bryant park, you can stop and talk to me then.

What do you think? Has he convinced you? Or are you still holding out for Ron Paul to finally have his year? Let us know in the comments below. (and send your hate mail to Jimmy Kimmel in Hollywood, CA)

On Tuesday night, Herman Cain went onto the O’Reilly Factor to discuss (among other things) how the allegations of sexual harassment have impacted his campaign. According to him, business is better than ever. Watch the video below to see what Cain says about how these allegations have impacted him and his campaign.

I have to admit that Cain makes some compelling points in this video, especially the fact that over a course of 42 years, these (supposedly) “baseless” accusations are the only thing he’s been confronted with.

What do you think? Is this story finally behind him? Or does Herman still have some ‘splainin to do? Let us know in the comments below, or if you’re feeling really ambitious, you can rent out a billboard with your opinion on it. Prizes will be awarded to the most creative billboard that’s submitted. The deadline is 3pm tomorrow afternoon. (but we suggest telling us in the comments section; it’s much simpler for all of us)